Here's a more clearly verifiable case of crimes against humanity, Mr. Karzai:
The callous behavior of the the witnesses to the flogging (and there's so much more about the shelters for these girls and women so please, please watch the video...) is just appalling. The number of men enjoying photographing the flogging is beyond words.
Over the past few months I've continued to ruminate about Bibi Aisha and the other women who have been 'punished' by the Taliban, some like the poor girl silently enduring flogging in the video above or others suffering even more egregious abuse at the hands of 'family' as did Bibi. You can read an update about Bibi's potential travel to the US for her reconstructive surgery here. You can contribute to her travel fund by PayPal with the link at the bottom of the page.
Bibi Aisha, Survivor
You can seek to aid Afghan women and Manizha Naderi's shelter at:
The book Women for Afghan Women is available from St. Martin's Press. Sadly, the book was written in 2002, back when Dr. Sima Samar was supposed to be Hamid Karzai's commitment to change and improved welfare for women in Afghanistan. When I look at the second video above, I wonder what has changed. How can Karzai's government ever change anything in Afghanistan if the lot of women there is not changed? So many studies and organizations have shown that if you want to improve a country's poverty level, and especially the educational level of its people as a whole, you must begin with helping their women. Afghanistan is a sad place these days if that's the case. The only ones helping are these brave women in the shelters and a few advocacy groups.
The courageous women running the shelters in Afghanistan deserve our support. If you can give, give, but if you can't afford to give and you have a Facebook page, post links to their news stories, 'Like' their Facebook page, and simply tell your friends. Spread the word.
And I really hope you watch that second video above. I think back to when my daughter was fourteen and just can't imagine how any person could allow their child to be consigned to such a fate. It's seeing things like that which make me think that Thelma Lee's ideal of the world becoming culturally indeterminate is a goal worth striving for at almost any cost.
On another note UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) is asking Americans to write their Congressperson about funding for a program to prevent and treat obstetric fistula in third world countries. You can take action here. To learn more about what obstetric fistula is, go here. I urge all US readers of the blog to write their congressperson. It will take only a moment of your time.
